JACKSON, Wyo. — Social distancing? Wyoming has been doing that for over a century, Senator John Barrasso told Fox News.
Wyoming leaders including Governor Mark Gordon—the man who would ultimately make the call—have come under media scrutiny and pressure to establish a formal stay-at-home order. The Cowboy State is one of nine who still have not done so. A recent story in USA Today noted those states have one thing in common: they are all governed by Republicans.
Wyoming is different, though, argue Gordon and Barrasso. The state’s wide-open spaces and low population means its residents don’t often come into close contact with one another without some real effort.
“Wyoming doesn’t need a formal stay-at-home order in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic because people in Wyoming have been social distancing for 130 years,” Barrasso says.
Despite pressure from Teton County officials, Gov. Gordon also is not convinced Wyoming needs to make a law out of its current trio of Statewide Health Orders and Statewide Directive (now extended through April 30).
“We’re trying to strike the right balance between protecting public health, and keeping essential business and services open,” shared First Lady Jennie Gordon during a fireside chat posted by the Governor’s Office on April 5. “That requires each of you to do your part. Do the right thing.”
The governor assured his constituents that his office was weighing and sifting through all the latest data and models in order to make sure Wyoming is prepared for the peak—expected later in May—in regard to ventilators, PPEs, beds, and healthcare workers themselves.
“Because we’re a rural state with a spread-out population, we have more time to get prepared,” Gordon said.
